Tuesday, August 14, 2007

I have written previously about the Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who had entered several drawings depicting Mohammed as a dog in a Swedish art exhibit, only to have them preemptively censored by the exhibit’s organizers.

Mr. Vilks’ response to the controversy, especially after he started to receive death threats, has been to draw more pictures of the Prophet as a dog. The latest, shown at right, is titled “The Prophet Mohammed as a Mullah-Dog”.

Lars Vilks’ confrontational behavior seems rather atypical for a Swede. Could it be because he is from Skåne, and therefore perhaps more Danish than Swedish?

CG, a reader from Denmark, sends this latest update on the Modoggie caper:

Looks like the Swedish Mohammed cartoon incident is picking up some speed. The new developments are now to be read in most Danish newspapers. It is also to be found in the Swedish and Norwegian media now.

I notice that the Danish papers are willing to print Mr. Vilks’ drawings, but I haven’t seen any on the Swedish or Norwegian MSM sites so far.

“We have chosen not to show the pictures out of security considerations. We have to take care of our students,” says Ove Martin Wall from the Gerlesborgskolan in Hamburgsund, a Swedish school of art.

The Swedish art school Gerlesborg in Bohuslän has decided not to show Lars Vilks’ drawings of the prophet Mohammed depicted as a dog. The decision was made after a gallery in Vämland a few weeks ago decided to remove Vilks’ drawings before the opening of the show.

Artist Threatened

The decision was made during the weekend. Wall will not comment about whether the decision was unanimous or if the discussions had been ‘rough’. The case has given rise to a debate resembling the Danish cartoon controversy.

Lars Vilks has been threatened twice during the debate. Anonymous persons have called him and threatened to slit his throat.

Lars Vilks’ confrontational behavior seems rather atypical for a Swede. Could it be because he is from Skåne, and therefore perhaps more Danish than Swedish?

Eccentric and confrontational artist.

May well be Latvian ancestry. Its just across the pond after all, and Vilks is a fairly usual Latvian surname meaning "Wolf". Such names as "Wolf" were not bestowed lightly here, that too goes together with an agressive attitude.

"Could it be because he is from Skåne, and therefore perhaps more Danish than Swedish?"An interesting statement. The Scanians are historically Danes. Actually, The University of Lund in Skåne was instituted in order to Swedenize the then (1670's) Danish population in the area, since Sweden conquered the Snapphane-movement and the Danes in the Scanian war and Sweden's contemporary king, Karl XI, claimed Skåne as Swedish territory. That's why the Skåne-accent differs vastly from "national Swedish" (Rikssvenska). The English language's equivalent to a conversation between a Scanian and a Stockholmer would probably be a conversation between someone from Texarcana, Texas and someone from Glasgow, Scotland.Yet, I doubt that Vilks is as brave as he is because he's Scanian. I consider Scanians just as brave as, Stockholmare, Göteborgare or Norrlänningar..."I notice that the Danish papers are willing to print Mr. Vilks’ drawings, but I haven’t seen any on the Swedish or Norwegian MSM sites so far."Neither have I. But Per Gudmundson of Svenska Dagbladet published one of Vilks' modogs on his blog, on July 21st (link). Brave of him, although he hasn't achieved to get it published in SvD...

Two Muslim groups have indicated their willingness to exhibit controversial sketches by artist Lars Vilks after galleries in western Sweden declined to show the artworks for fear of Islamist reprisals.

Inspired by Sweden's recent 'roundabout dogs' craze, Vilks composed a series of sketches portraying the Muslim prophet Muhammad as just such a creature. "http://www.thelocal.se/8222/20070817/